Mining-mill.



N0. 806,145. PATENTED DEG. 5, 1905.

i". J. HOYT.

MINING MILL. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

2X moses mmuw a, GRAHAM 20,, PMUTOLIIMOGFIAPNERS wAsumcron, u c.

110. 806,145 PATENTED DEC; 5, 1905.

PI Jl v MINING MILL. APPLIdAT-IOH TILED JUNE 9, 1902.

Wihauoeo 6mm up No. 806,145. PATENTED no.5, 1905.

. J. HOYT.

MINING MILL- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

i g No. 806,145.

' T at whom it may concern: I

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'FREDERICK J. HoYrioF-cHIcAeo, ILLINOIS.

MINING-IVIILL,

Be it known that I, Fn DERIcK J. -HOYT, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chis I cago, in the. county ofCook and State of Illi' nois, have invented certain new andusefulImprovements in Mining-Mills, of which the fol lowing isajspecification, referenc'e'being had therein to. the accompanyingdrawings.

I My invention relates to an improvement in. placer-mining and to thatclass 'of placer. mines wherein th gold is'fou'nd coarse,- fine,

and floured and whereinalso the gold from various causes hasbecomeoxidized, rusty, or otherwise by nature placed ina condition not,

to be'promptly absorbed and taken upby quicksilver orwhen it is in toofine andflouredv acondition to gravitate and come in contact with thequicksilver or has by its condition no affinity for quicksilver, andtherefore cannot be saved with.

if it does come in contact there- It is a wellknown fact that the goldina placer-bed has only therein a certain percentage that is cleanandbright, free-from allo zi ids and rust, and which is attracted byquicksilver. gold, which can 'be caught in an ordinary sluiceway withrifiles therein, that class-of first, to place the gold in a.-cleanbright congold is only a small percentage of the'values that can besavedif the finer gold 'can be cleansed and the oxidation and "rust removed,quicksilver used, and the fine' flour-gold caught which is toofine andlight t'Ogravitate. In other words, a placer-bedthatvbyhydraulicsluicing would yield in value from twenty cents to seventy-fivecents per cubic yard mayyif' all the values therein "are saved,

yield-from five dollars'up per-cubic yard". The

two important factors necessary. to save all values in either placer or,quartz mining are,

dition, so that its affinity for quicksilverwill be free to act, and,second, to pass the pulpthrough a millin which the gold inthe pulp shallby mechanical devices be forced to come in contact with quicksilver.

tainty of saving all the values is obtained; Another necessary adjunctis the ability to handle through this apparatus a large amount ofmaterial at a' nominal cost per ton or yard.

The objects of my inventionare, first, to handle a large amount ofgold-bearing sand and grave] in such a way that the cost of operationmay be small.

' the material in a continuous flow from the While this isimmaterial-astocoarse- -When these two essential points are gained, anabsolute cer This I accomplish by running Specification of LettersPatent. Application filed June 9, 1902. Serial No 110,813.

1 brightened. I

mechanism, and'Fig. 3 a

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

feeding at the bank on to the head of the sluice to the tail-racewithout any delay or detention, and, second, to extract and save all theI gold during its progress in'its run 'over the.

apparatus. To accomplish theseobjects, I

use a combination'of a chemical sluiceway and a quicksilver device, inwhich sluiceway the,

chemical'actionof dissolving and scouring oc,

curs and in which the quicksilver-machine mating device. I

Referring to the drawings, A is a shaking screen resting on a frameworka, so constructed as to give the screen an inclined position, an'ddirectly beneath is placed sluicei way A=and a'rifi1e-sluice A Thescreen is 'operated by eccentric a and rod a The vscreen runsacross-sluiceway A, and thelatf termay be of anydesired length or width;

'1 but preferably itjis about two hundred feet from their united head tothe amalgamating device and five feet wide. The sand and gravel carryingthe gold are elevated by buckets or belt up to and discharged onto thescreen A. The coarse gravel is discharged E over the screen onto thesluice A provided 2 with riifies and over Whichthe gravel is carried byforce of water. On shaftoa is aheader overwhich bucketsare discharged;a, the elevating-buckets; d, the pulleys for driving- .-buckets, and (r-the header over which the buckets areturned.

At the head of the screen A and the sluice-- way A) is located a tank 0,which carries a chemical solution Fromthis tank leads a l connects witha perforated pipe 0, extending across the head of the sluiceway-A andadapt- -face1of the latter. preferred chemical solvent, which maybe edto spread the solution over the entire sur- (Jyanid of potassiumis theweak or strong, as the circumstances demand.

B is an amalgamating device which in the form shown constitutes theprincipal subject of my Patent No. 686,300 of November 12,

1901, and need not, therefore, be described'now with greatparticularity. It issufficient to saythat it consists chiefly-of'aseries of inclined copper plates 5' for conducting a flow pipe =0controlled by a cock at and which of ore, said plates interspersed withhalf-cylinder troughs 6 each holding a body of live quicksilver, smoothcopper cylinders revolving in said quicksilver in the direction of theflow of the ore and over which plates and cylinders the pulp andsolution pass from the sluiceway A, and a final half-cylinder I), havingrevolving fingers thereon to prevent any loss of quicksilver, saidfingers and rotating cylinders driven by a common gearing I).

H is the end revolving screen. It is made of wire, preferablyone-hundred-mesh fine or finer, if desired, preferably five feet wideand in the form of an endless belt. It is rotated by a series of frontsprocket-wheels it, fastened on its under side to sprocket-chains 7& andis carried over and around a tank K of suitable size.- At the corners,on both sides of the tank K, are placed grooved rollers 6, on which thesprocket-chains run and by which the screen is supported and guided. Theend of the sluiceway A projects over the top of the screen H a foot ormore, as desired. Fig. 2 is a general view of said tail-screen,representing any width, showing but two sprockets and chains forconvenience, one on each end, such as would be used on the narrowerwidths.

A tank K is placed underneath the screen H and catches the solution fromsluiceway A, the screen revolving around the tank. Straight pipes 0carry the solution back from the tank Kto tank D, from which it ispumped up to tank C and run over again. Pipes d carry part of thesolution down from tank K to zinc boxes 9, into which the dissolved goldis precipitated as the solution percolates up through the same, and fromthese boxes the solution thus stripped of the gold is led from box tobox and finally back to tanks E, where it is regenerated and used again.A pipe L on the nose of the screen and perforated pipe M have functionshereinafter described.

The shaking of the screen A cuts off the coarse gravel and allows onlythe fine sand and gravelsay from one-half inch in size down-to passthrough it into the chemical sluiceway A, the coarse material runningdown this inclined shaking-screen and falling off into the outsidesluice A where water floats it down over rifiies placed in said outsidesluice. The riffles catch and save any nuggets of one-half inch orlarger of gold that may be in the placer-bed. The material from one-halfinch in size to finer sizes passes through the screen and falls ontothesluiceway A. The solution discharged from the perforated pipe 0 picks upand carries forward the sand and gravel as fast as it falls through theshaking-screen A. The cyanid solution as fast as it comes in contactwith any gold there may be in the pulp attacks it at once, and if veryfine or floured the gold is dissolved before it reaches thequicksilvermill. During its passage down the two hundred feet ofsluiceway A any gold contained in the sand that is too coarse to havebeen fully dissolved has been sufiiciently attacked by the cyanid ofpotassium or other chemical solution used to remove all rust oroxidation therefrom and is then in the very best condition to bealmalgamated by the quicksilver apparatus, to which it is carried by thedownward flow of the solution. The gold having been cleansed by thechemical solution and now having an unobstructed attraction for thequicksilver is readily caught on this machine, as contact therewith isabsolutely certain while the pulp is passing over the revolvingcylinders. The pulp or sand and gravel after passing over thequicksilvermachine goes forward over a continuation of the slui'cewaysayten or fifteen feet-and onto the revolving screen H. The sand, gravel,and the solution after the heavy gold has been extracted and saved bythe quicksilver-mill travel forward onto this revolving screen, throughwhich the solution carrying the dissolved gold passes into the tankunderneath. The remaining sand and gravel are carried forward by therevolving screen to the point where the latter turns over thesprocketwheels It, when the pulp is automatically dumped onto thetail-race A. it is then carried forward by water fed from an elevatedtank F, placed at this point and having a perforated pipe L dischargingthe water directly onto the nose of the screen and which washes all sandand gravel off the screen onto the tail-race and carries it forward toany point desired for dumping. From this same tank F is run a smallhalf-inch pipe M, crossing the screen at a point one or more feet backof the sprocket-wheels, which pipe is perforated and throws a spray ontothe sand and gravel and washes off and into the tank underneath thescreen any of the chemical solution carrying the dissolved gold that mayadhere to the same after the main solution leaves it. All the pipesherein referred to are provided with stop-cocks, so that the flow ofwater and of the solution can be regulated or entirely cut off. It isclear that with the buckets or belt dumping onto the head of the sluiceten or fifteen pounds of sand and gravel at a time, which is at oncecarried forward with two or three gallons of the cyanid solution fromthe tank C through the perforated pipe 0, this solution has a chance towork only upon the gold which may be in this small amount of sand andgravel and continues with it until it reaches the revolving screen H,when it falls into the tank K below. Consequently the solution will notexhaust itself, not take up but a small percentage of the gold it hasthe ca pacity of taking up. Instead, therefore, at

this time trying to precipitate the solution with a reagent the tank Kunder the revolving screen is allowed to fill up with the solution tonear its capacity, which precipitates to the v solution'supplies, anamalgamating apparatus forming a part of the same structure and redbottom'any fine sand'that may hav'epassed zinc boxes through pipes Zinto forward tank.-

with "it through the screen. The solution fromthe tank-K is then'carriedby gravity back beneath the .sluice'to thehead of the same anddischargedin a'tan k D, fromwhich it is pumped to the upper'tank C and then runoverthe sluice again. 'Thusthis' solution may 1 be run ten or fifteen ormore times until it has shown thatits strength has been greatlydiminished by the amountof gold it has dis' solved. Then'the uppercontinuouspipe ois closed and the pipesol below are opened. The solutionthen passes down and throughthe Zinc boxes 9 from one to the other andin eachof which gold may be precipitated. The weakened solution passesback from the above and used again. V

I donot wish to. be confined to any particular chemical, as thereareseveralthat may be used in this way, nor do'I wish'to be'con fined tothis particular form of amalgar'nator E and issettled, regenerated, andpumped up or to the use of any am'algarnator so far as the coarse goldis concerned after the fine and floured gold has been dissolved,which'may be caught on rifiies in the sluiceway. p g. i

It will be seen that my invention is adapted to treat other ores thangold.

What Iclaim is' v 1. In a miningapparatus, the combination inonesti'uctu re of a shaking-screengachemical sluiceway, 'bothinclined,the latter placed directly underthe said screen, and both joined attheir heads at the point ofore a'nd'cheniit'zalceiving the run both fromthe said screen and the 'sluiceway, saidv sluicewayhaving an extensionbeyond the'amalgamator, a revolving tail-screen at the end of saidextension, a tailtank' for receiving the solution, over which the screenrevolves, receiving-tanks under the head'of the machine, return-pipesfrom saidtail-tank to the head-tankszinc vats on the lineof said pipesin which the solution is precipitated on its wayiback tothe head, and lpumping means to *pump thesolution from said headtank or tanks back tothe original supply tank, whereby a continuous constant operation of themill and a continuing circu:

lation of the solution around the mill. are obtained, substantiallyasdescribed.

' 2.--Thecombination of a screen and chemical sluicew'ay having'its headbeneath the screen,'with an amalgamatingdevice on which the'saidsluiceway' discharges, an extension of the sluiceway beyondtheamalgamating devlce, arevolving screen at end of said extension, a recevlng-tank for the solution under said screen, a water-tank abovesaidscreen, and pipes leading onto said screen from the tank above. towash the screen free from the Solution and to carry the tailings beyondsaid screen to placeot discharge, substantially as described: y I r '3.The combination of an inclined shaking supply, a tank for a chemicalsolution for dissolving the ore at the head of said screen and headscreen and a sluiceway having its head beneath the screen, both leadingfrom the oresluiceway, a distributing, perforated pipe for spreading thesolution over'said sluiceway, andat the opposite end of said sluiceway areceiving-tank for the solution, a revolving screen for'the tailings, apipe system from said receiving-tank to end tanks under the head of theshaking-screen and the sluiceway, saidendta'nks, and pumping means topump the solution backup to the said chemical tank, substantially asdescribed.

4; In a mining apparatus the combination be treated is first th rown, ofaninclined sluice,- way receiving the material from said screen atits'head, a tank of cleansing and dissolving solution placed at the headof said sluiceway, *means for feeding the same to the 'sluicewaysimultaneously'with the ore, a tank placed at the lower end of saidsluiceway to receive the said solution and the dissolved and cleansedore, a third regenerating-tank, and'a pipe leading direct from saidsecond tank to said regenerating tank, substantially as described;

at its head, atank of cleansing and'dis solving solution placed at thehead of-saidsluiceway with a'shaking-screenon which the material to 5.Ina mining apparatus the combination Q with a shaking-screen on whichthe material g to be treated is received, of an inclined sluice- -Way toreceive the material from said screen i and means for feeding the sameto the sluice way simultaneously with the ore, a revolving screen and atank placed at the lower'end' of said sluiceway, a third tank .forregenerating placed under the first tank at the head of the machine, andapipe connection from said secondtank to the third tanks, substantiallyas described.

6. In a mining-mill, a main sluice and an auxiliary sluice, means forfeeding ore to said,

sluices adapted to distribute fine ore to the formerand coarsejoreto'the latter, means for'distribut-ing over the fine ore a chemicalsolution adapted to cleanse and dissolve the same, means fordistributing water over the coarse ore, an amalgamator adapted to catchIIO the cleansed fine ore, riffies adapted to catch nuggets from thecoarse ore, means for sepa- I rating the saturated solution from thetail ings and for disposing ofsaid tailings, a tank for receiving saidsolution, means'for 'rede-* livering the solution 'freed from metal, and

means for connecting the receiving-tank with either of sa d redellverlngmeans,su bstantlally as described. r l

7. In amining-mill the combination of a sluice, a screen at the head ofsaid sluice, I

means for feeding ore through the screen to the sluice, means fordeposlting on the sluice simultaneously With the ore a chemical solutionadapted to scour and dissolve said ore, an amalgamator adapted to catchthe cleansed ore, a tank to receive said solution, means forredelivering the solution freed from metal, and means for connecting thereceiv- A. M. HoY'r, WILL H. MOORE.

